Baguio Minute 5

It is getting hotter and in deference to the California and Australia brushfires, the fire at the PMA reservation last week went uncontained for nine hours and destroyed four hectares. Agno River and Chico River watersheds are among the sites mulled for the $80 million refo project. The Beneco finally bags the streetlighting program of the city for six months after it threatened an expose that some councilors initially denied the bid because they have other business entities in mind. Like the American Idol, the Panagbenga committee said that only nine out of the 17 schools here made it to the Panagbenga parade on Feb. 28 and March 1. Ten other groups from outside Baguio are going to dance, beat their drums and smile like there's no tomorrow. Like the AI, Panagbenga also launched the Baguio's Got Talent! at Burnham whiohc will go on every weekend with Martin Masadao as one of the judges. Yes, the hotels are already fully booked for the event and yes, the city said the garbage during the whole month will be collected. The city planned on using the following for their next landfill: Virac and the open pit mine in Itogon, and OMG! Mt. Sto. Tomas! The council announced that they approved 21 significant laws last year including no-smoking, no-graffiti, no-casino, creation of blue lanes along the roads for wheelchairs, clean air and a ticketing system in drugstores. Councilors wanted City Hall grounds locked during the night to prevent theft and heavy petting among the trees. And speaking of romance, on February 14 night, Chinggoy Alonzo together with soprano Kate Balajadia and tenor Juan Gaerlan will perform "Phantom of the Opera" above Burnham Lake. The Baguio Writers Group will also have a poetry reading at Cafe by the Ruins later in the evening. The Baguio Botanical Park, formerly known as Imelda Park, will now be known as Centennial Park. After two months, the bingo at Otek was finally dismantled. Guess they run out of corpses as lamay excuses.